The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has proposed revising its guidance on religious discrimination under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Title VII). The proposed guidance would revise Section 12 of the agency’s Compliance Manual for the first time since 2008.
As discussed in more detail below, the most significant proposed revisions address exemptions from Title VII coverage, such as those that apply to religious organizations and the so-called ministerial exception. The proposed revisions, while not carving out any policy positions inconsistent with current Title VII law, do provide some additional discussion of interest to private sector employers, such as the tension between workers who wish to engage in workplace religious speech and those who wish to refrain from hearing such speech.
Members of the Center for Workplace Compliance (CWC) can read more here.